Restoration: Book 1/3

Chapter 11

Days passed, filled with incredibly demanding training that my body and mind could barely handle. Just as my body started to heal from strength training, new bruises and cuts were placed atop them. One day our mental training wouldn't seem so bad, and then the next day, we'd be forced into traumatic simulations the next day.

Before I knew it, two weeks had come and gone.

In such a short time, even if I didn't want to admit it, my muscles and fighting ability improved significantly. Sakura, who'd just finished her first year of college to become a doctor, was sure they were putting something in our food to stimulate growth. We could all see the benefits of physical training, but we couldn't fathom what could possibly be gained from the borderline torture we were introduced to during our mental conditioning.

I was slowly warming up to some of the other participants while I became even more unnerved by others.

For example, it no longer made me anxious to sit in the dining room with the other members of Group B, but I also became more uncomfortable around Hidan. He didn't really do anything to harm me, in particular. He just gave me the creeps.

I also found out from Ino, who overheard some girls talking in Group A while showering, that it had been a guy named Kisame and some girl in the bathroom stall hooking up that night. Apparently, she heard them gossiping about how good he was and how he'd done it with two different girls already.

He was strikingly tall and muscular, with dark hair with a blueish tint. I'd never spoken to him, but I met his eye once during breakfast, and a jolt of fear shot through my spine. An aura of something dangerous surrounded him. Sakura agreed with me that we should do our best to avoid him.

What surprised me the most was that when we weren't having our training sessions, I honestly felt kind of happy to be around everyone. I've barely tasted the feeling of friendship all my life, and now that I was starting to get closer to others, I was eager to feel more.

Of course, I stopped myself from trying to reach out and do so. The fact is that I'm lying to each and every one of them. As far as they know, I'm just another applicant in The Program.

How would they react if they found out that I knew the true nature of this training camp, that they didn't, that I knew Madara and Masumi well before coming down to this underground bunker, and I didn't tell a soul?

What if they learned I know the cash reward is a lie?

"Truth or dare, Karin!"

I looked over as Ino addressed the redheaded girl. It was about half an hour until lights-out, and a bunch of us were either playing truth or dare or watching it be played. In a loose circle sat me, Sakura, Ino, Karin, Matsuri, Sai, Sasuke, Naruto, Kiba, and Tenten.

Multiple others were sitting loosely around us, just watching in silence. Normally I'd consider that odd, but we weren't permitted books or anything else to pass the time down here, so there wasn't much else to focus on.

"Dare, of course!"

Ino didn't hesitate to reply, "I dare you to go kiss the person you like the most here."

A few girls let out sounds of excitement as the redhead rose to her feet and surveyed the sizeable bunking room. She seemed to decide who she liked and strode silently over to tap Suigetsu on his shoulder. Sitting with another small group, he turned to look up at her with a quirked eyebrow. She didn't give him a moment to react before leaning down and firmly kissing him. His eyebrows rose, and he lifted a hand as though he wanted to pull her down closer, but she pulled away before he could.

Multiple people cheered and laughed as she fled back to her spot with a bright red face. His eyes followed her briefly before one of the guys he sat beside distracted him.